The music examined in this Traditional Jazz Curriculum Kit is frequently misunderstood, and even knowledgeable fans, collectors and musicians disagree on terminology and stylistic divisions.

This document presents a logical view of the stylistic categories of traditional jazz. It is hoped that jazz educators will find this guide useful, and that directors of youth ensembles specializing in traditional jazz will make an effort to instill in their bandmembers an understanding of and proficiency in the full spectrum of “flavors” available to them.

Towards a Definition of Traditional Jazz

Before dividing this pie into logical pieces, we should describe the
pie itself. What is "traditional jazz"? What are the common
denominators that define it? In my view, "traditional jazz"
in the proper sense of the term is jazz which exhibits all or most of
the following characteristics:

1) Wind instruments playing polyphonically

2) Easily discernible chord patterns

3) 2/4 or 4/4 meter

4) Instrumentation approximating the following:

"FRONT LINE" (HORNS):

Trumpet or cornet

Clarinet or soprano sax

Trombone

Tenor, alto or baritone sax (sometimes)

--or a subset of these

RHYTHM SECTION:

Piano

Banjo or guitar

Tuba, string bass or bass sax

Drums or washboard

--or a subset of these

5) Pre-bop harmonies and phrasing (the earlier
the musical vocabulary employed, the greater the compliance to this
part of our definition)

The single most distinguishing characteristic
of traditional jazz is the first element above--the wind instruments
playing polyphonically (a New Orleans tradition). This means that each
is playing a different melodic line simultaneously. Most traditional
jazz displays this characteristic. A performance that lacks this characteristic
(either because there is a single wind instrument, or because the wind
instruments are scored in "tutti") might still be considered
"traditional jazz", depending on the degree to which it meets
the other criteria, especially #4 and #5.

Using the five criteria above (remember, it's
"all or most") as the broad definition of the genre, we can
break that genre into a number of distinct stylistic approaches. While
most traditional jazz groups blend these stylistic approaches to arrive
at their own sound, the divisions below are the primary stylistic touchstones
from which they proceed.

Any and all of these styles may include vocals.
All are still performed today.

Note: The artist/group recorded output cited for each style contains some of the earliest and most definitive
recorded instances of that style, though it may very well contain non-applicable
recordings as well.

New Orleans Styles

The New Orleans styles of jazz are the original source of the key characteristics
of traditional jazz.

Brass Band Style:

Instrumentation (generally): Augmented. Two or
more trumpets with some combination of clarinets, trombones, saxophones,
and sousaphones, with separate snare and bass drum. Sometimes alto or
baritone horns as well.

Repertoire: Marches, dirges, pop tunes, spirituals/hymns.

Style: Free, loose, improvised. Drummers maintain
a swinging, propulsive march-like cadence with an emphasis on beat four
of every other measure. Drums continue between tunes, with "roll-offs"
announcing each tune. Bass drummer often adds light ringing cymbal on
the offbeats. Exaggerated mournfulness for dirges, exaggerated joyousness
for uptempo.

Instrumentation (generally): One or two cornets/trumpets;
clarinet or soprano sax; trombone; sometimes one or two tenor/alto saxes;
piano; banjo (sometimes guitar); tuba (sometimes string bass, or no
bass at all); sometimes drums or washboard--or a subset of the above.

The word "revival" refers to the renewed interest in traditional
jazz in the 40s. There is disagreement as to whether this style evolved
(or "devolved") from the Classic New Orleans Style
in the 40s, or actually predated the Classic New Orleans Style
but escaped public notice until the 40s.

Style: Spontaneous (unstructured), ragged, soulful, emotional, often
laid-back. Intonation and technical execution are de-emphasized, while
conveying an emotional message is everything. Trumpet toys with the
beat, sticks fairly close to the lead line; heavy vibrato optional.
Some use of derby mute, occasionally harmon (stem in). Clarinet tone as in Classic New Orleans style, but phrasing is less
on-the-beat. Albert system clarinets are often used. Clarinet arpeggios
are common. Trombone plays "smeary" fills. Rhythm is steady
four. Bass is often "slapped". Drums concentrate on snare,
especially propulsive press rolls (bzzzzip, bzzzzip), filling the end
of eight-bar phrases with tom, woodblock and/or rims. Ride cymbal used
sparingly. High ratio of ensemble-to-solos. Horn solos are often accompanied
by the other horns, and sometimes consist of an instrument momentarily
rising to prominence within the ensemble.

Style: Highly structured performances. A somewhat polished sound. Heavily
syncopated (ragtime-like) rhythm. Brisk tempos are common. Emphasis
on ensemble choruses, often played repetitively with little variation.
Heavy use of "breaks". Horns often phrase in a rhythmically
stilted manner. Clarinet is sometimes high and shrill. Drums used sparingly
if at all, often being limited to cymbal crash punctuations. Performances
often end with silent beats 4 and 1 followed by ensemble "doo-dop"
tag on beats 2 and 3.

Recorded examples: Original Dixieland Jazz Band (1917-22); Louisiana
Five (1918-19); Ted Lewis Jazz Band (1919-24); Original Memphis Five
(1922-31); Original Indiana Five (1923-8).

Style: Highly structured performances, usually featuring intricate
arrangements. Very polished sound. Smooth syncopated rhythmic feel.
"Straight-eighth" phrasing by the horns but sometimes with
a softened attack. Horn soloists often jump wide intervals. Mutes are seldom used. Drum work frequently includes heavy use of choked
("spanked") cymbal. Ensemble and solos featured equally. Arrangements
and solos sometimes include the use of whole tones. Endings sometimes
employ the "doo-dop" tag.

Recorded examples: The Wolverines (1924); University Six (1925-28);
Red Nichols and his Five Pennies (1926-7); Miff Mole's Molers (1927);
Bix Beiderbecke and his Gang (1927-8).

Chicago Styles

Chicago Style is generally thought of as a single style,
yet the early recordings in this style are quite different from the
later, more familiar Chicago Style. The early Chicago
Style was developed and recorded in Chicago, while the later Chicago
Style was developed largely in New York by former Chicagoans (many
of the same players).

Style: High-energy. Busy, boisterous ensemble, often with sudden climaxes
and anticlimaxes (builds to a crash on beat 4 at the end of a phrase,
then the bottom drops out). Performances open and close with ensemble
(sometimes partly scored), with succession of solos in between. Ensemble
intros are common. 4-beat feel, occasionally shifting to 2-beat. Mutes
are seldom used. Punchy, on-the-beat phrasing. Drumming is somewhat
busy, often employing an eighth-note feel with fills at the end of phrases.
Endings include the "double ending" and the "doo-dop"
tag.

Style: Generally an unstructured "jam session" approach,
though sometimes employing scored passages. Succession-of-solos is the
primary emphasis, with most players soloing on each tune. Horns sometimes
riff behind soloists. Rhythm is smooth and swing-like; the feel is usually 4/4. Horn players may be driving or laid-back, but phrasing
is generally smooth, melodic, and technically proficient. Some use of
cup, harmon (stem out) and plunger mutes. Piano comps behind soloists.
Drums make use of ride cymbal/hi-hat/brushes, and drum solos are common.
Performances typically begin with a 4- or 8-bar intro, often played
by the piano, and end with a 4-bar drum tag followed by ensemble repeating
the final 4 or 8 bars; or, sometimes, a cowbell "ding-ding"
on beats 4 and 1 followed by ensemble "doo-dop" on beats 2
and 3.

This style is closely related to the Chicago style. For purposes of
"traditional jazz", this category does not include big-band
swing, nor does it include the majority of small-band swing. It includes
only small-band swing that displays New Orleans characteristics as described
below.

Style: Swing rhythm is emphasized, with drums using ride cymbal/hi-hat/brushes
extensively. Horns use the phrasing and harmonic language of swing.
Trumpet/trombone sometimes use cup mute. The approach is either a jam
session in a swing style with collective improvisation opening and/or
closing the performance; or the horns scored in harmony in a big-band-type
arrangement (with space for solos). Riffs are common.

While it may seem like an oxymoron to designate a "mainstream
style" within "traditional jazz", there is an approach
to jazz performance in which the traditional New Orleans instrumentation
and polyphony are present along with elements of post-swing musical
vocabulary.

This style originated in Europe, achieving the most prominence in England.
While the term "trad jazz" is often used to mean "traditional
jazz" in the generic sense, "Trad" is also the word applied
to this particular style.

Style: Based on the New Orleans Revival Style, but generally
more polished and structured. Rhythm is a steady 4. The banjo/bass combination
is the heart of the style. Banjo has a distinctive crisp, ringing sound.
Drumming is generally more Chicago- or swing-oriented than New Orleans-oriented.

Over the years a number of artists/groups have achieved success by
infusing traditional jazz with commercial elements designed for mass
appeal. This approach is commonly based on Chicago or Swing Style, but
is sometimes based on San Francisco or European "Trad" Style.
The resulting performances may be highly arranged and stylized, and
may be unusually loud or "showy". Phrasings are sometimes
exaggerated for effect. Soloists may display great technical skill.
The recorded
examples include examples of a variety of traditional jazz styles, having
in common a certain commercial element. (This observation is in no way
intended as a value judgment.)

An offshoot of the "commercial" approach is the combination
of traditional jazz with other genres of popular music. Probably the
best-known example of this is the "folk dixie" of the 60s,
as popularized by the Village Stompers (1963-6) and others. This approach
rode the crest of the folk music craze by playing folk and pop tunes
in a traditional jazz style, with the inclusion of lead choruses by
the banjo in a "single-string" style. Other groups have combined
traditional jazz with country, classical, "the twist", disco,
polka, rock, the samba, etc.; many recorded examples exist.

The music described in this guide is played by groups containing wind
instruments. Woven throughout these ensemble styles are various piano
styles that are also performed in a solo setting. We might separate
these piano styles into major categories as well, thus:

Ragtime

Stride

Honky tonk/barrelhouse

Blues

Boogie woogie

Swing

There are other categories that could be named here, and several of
those named can be further divided into substyles. Ragtime is generally
not considered a jazz piano style per se, but it is found in some "traditional
jazz" settings (most notably San Francisco Style).

What About "Hot Dance" Style?

Absent from the above descriptions of the styles
of traditional jazz is the dominant popular music of the late 1920s and
early 1930s: "hot dance". This music was performed by pre-swing
"big bands" of about 9-12 pieces. It was highly arranged,
using syncopated rhythms and, to varying degrees, "hot" (i.e.
jazz) solos. Typical instrumentation included two trumpets, trombone,
three saxes, violin, piano, banjo, tuba, and drums. While it is related
to the 1920s styles of traditional jazz, this music's instrumentation and approach are markedly different.
Instead of a small number of horns playing polyphonically, "hot
dance" uses five or more horns scored as sections playing in tutti.
It must be noted, however, that some fairly large bands mixed sectional
tutti passages with polyphonic passages in a single performance.

Why Draw These Lines at All?

There are many who sneer at any analysis of traditional jazz (or any
other music), stating that it is unimportant--or even destructive--to
recognize such categories as the above. I believe that the better we
understand an art form's inner workings, and the more we share that
knowledge, the better that art form can be appreciated.

Still, such categorization leads to labeling, which can be a dangerous
process. Labels must be used carefully and responsibly. If we use them
carelessly, the result can be that something we label is assumed, by
association, to have a certain characteristic that it does not in fact
have, or the reverse. The stylistic categories set out above are more
safely applied to individual performances than to artists. We must be
wary of "typecasting" artists (and such is not the intent in
citing recorded examples herein). And we must be careful to qualify
our stylistic labels as we use them.

Finally, it bears repeating that relatively few traditional jazz performances
are "pure" manifestations of any one style above. Mixing and
matching various stylistic elements is the norm--that is, after all,
the creative process. Traditional jazz is a kaleidoscope of styles,
one that is still being turned to create new colors.